Customs agents seize exotic fruit containing pest at BWI

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents intercepted a type of mealybug pest in an exotic fruit at Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, federal officials said Monday.

The bug, formally known as Maconellicoccus multipori, could have posed a "significant agriculture threat" as it feeds on the juices of greenhouse plants, house plants and subtropical trees, Robert D. Hunt, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesman, said in a statement.

The mealybug was found inside a cherimoya fruit brought by someone traveling from India in December 2012. A U.S. Department of Agriculture entomologist confirmed the pest this week. Other cherimoya fruits found on the passenger were seized and burned.

Mealybugs can also be a "vector" for plant disease and an infestation can damage crop yields, Hunt said. Cherimoya fruit is commonly known as the "ice cream fruit" and originates in the Andes mountains.